A debate has been raging between trigger happy Gun Nuts and open minded, free thinking anti-gun Activists regarding the disarming of citizens.
Although the debate around whether citizens of South Africa should be allowed to legally own firearms is not new, the topic has been thrust into the spotlight anew, after police minister Bheki Cele recently expressed his support for the cause of Gun Free SA and others who feel that gun ownership should be illegal.
The “No Gun Lobby” argues that if legally owned firearms are removed from society, gun violence and gun crime will eventually also decrease.
I agree, and would like to state; that if spoons are removed from society no one would die from of obesity related complications. Also, if we stop breathing, air pollution would not affect us.
Still, Gun Fee SA could possibly have a point. That is if you’re willing to give up the lives brutally taken, in between the “let’s give up our guns while we wait for gun crime to magically disappear” segment, and the “finally gun crime has magically disappeared” segment of South African history.
In 2019 Minister Bheki Cele admitted in parliament that the SAPS had lost more that 9,5 million rounds of ammunition and 4 357 firearms.
LOST.
Where does Gun Free SA think these weapons went? Perhaps to the same Island as your missing socks?
Now, if you don’t own a firearm and couldn’t be bothered about the new law either way, bear in mind that the leaked draft of the new proposed anti-gun law made it very clear that all forms of private firearm ownership for self defense would be disallowed. This would mean that security companies that offer armed response services, will also be prevented from using firearms, as well as guards on cash-in-transit vans.
If you honestly think that disarming citizens will put an end to gun crime, take into consideration that the weapons most often used in cash-in-transit heists, are military and police issued R4 and R5 assault rifles, and recently again, according to the South African Banking Risk Association, AK47 rifles have started resurfacing.
It is clear that in a country where police weapons go missing, military assault rifles get stolen and AK47’s are smuggled into the country, Gun Free SA’s argument makes no sense.
In fact, the argument is so illogical I cannot stop my mind from wandering into the murky waters of conspiracy theories by questioning the motives of those who support it. Why would they want to remove your capability of defending yourself and your loved ones in one of the most violent countries in the world.
Jacques Broodryk is a multi-award winning broadcast journalist and media personality. He believes in personal freedoms and personal responsibility, as an antidote to many of the world’s challenges, thou not all.
